


Ultra Magnus and the Case of the Missing Matrix

by Gumby1011



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 23:58:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4282908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gumby1011/pseuds/Gumby1011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short little one-shot detailing the way-too-serious Ultra Magnus' attempts to track down the Lost Light's half of the Matrix of Leadership, which has mysteriously vanished overnight! With no leads, no evidence and no tolerance for his fellow crew-mate's shenanigans, will Magnus be able scrounge up a lead and track down this invaluable artifact?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ultra Magnus and the Case of the Missing Matrix

“GONE?”

“Yes, it’s gone.”

What do you mean _gone!?_ ” There wasn’t much that could get Rodimus’ vocal unit to hit quite that high a pitch. However, this was an out and out _disaster,_ so there was that. In all his time at the helm of the _Lost Light,_ nothing had been quite this bad… Well, okay, there were the warp drive troubles.

And the Sparkeater. 

And the Titan Hunters. 

And that one time Fortress Maximus had flipped out.

But, look, this was still awful!

“What I mean is simple.” Perceptor shrugged, rolling his one normal optic. “I came in this morning to check on the star map, and the matrix half was simply missing.”

“Wha-... But you-...” Rodimus put a hand to his head and scratched along the plating there. “YOU HAD ONE JOB-”

“Oh, is that a fact?” Perceptor folded his arms. “I’m sorry, I could’ve _sworn_ I was working on several different weapon prototypes _and_ trying to think of a way to repair the leak in the fusion reactors with truly minimal materials because _somebody_ thought we could afford to pass by Theta Irratus without stopping for supplies.”

“What? But you-” And Rodimus kept sputtering on like that for a microcycle or two, before finally taking a deep intake and shunting a cleansing amount of exhaust. “Alright. You know what? It’s fine. We’ll find it. Yeah.” Immediately the flame orange ‘bot barely-didn’t-run across the room to an intercom panel. He punched in a quick three-digit code that had been useless for millions of years now, with the sole exception of being pulsed within earshot of the one ‘bot Rodimus was now trying to contact.

_fzzzzt-_ **“Ultra Magnus, Duly App-”**

“Listen, Magnus, it’s me!”

**“-cer of the Tyrest Accord, what is your emergency?”**

Rodimus rolled his optics. “Look, Magnus, it’s your _captain!_ I need you to be down in Perceptor’s workshop as quick as you can!”

 

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Ultra Magnus grumbled, looking down on the two smaller bots. “You lost it.”

Perceptor shook his head. “No. It was stolen. We’ve been over this.”

“Indeed we have.” The blue-faced ‘bot took a nanocycle to add “criminally negligent” to the brief profile hovering above Rodimus in his optics. “If it’s still on this ship, I’ll retrieve it. Do either of you have any leads for me?”

Perceptor and Rodimus just looked at each other before slowly shaking their heads.

At this, Magnus just let out a small puff of exhaust and pinched his nasal ridge. “Alright. That’s fine. I can work with that. Eventually.”

 

* * *

It doesn’t take a Fusion Reactor Scientist to know where to start the search for something like this. _No. Because_ apparently _the Fusion Reactor Scientist can’t keep track of what he’s supposed to in the first place!_ So when Ultra Magnus kicked in the door to Swerve’s and silenced the entire bar in one fell swoop, it didn’t take long for the bar’s proprietor to catch on. In an instant Magnus had scanned and catalogued each and every violation throughout the bar and filed it away in his memory banks for later prosecution. Then he descended on the bar in complete silence, towering over Swerve as he did so.

“Oh Primus, what did who do this time?” Swerve muttered, shrinking back slightly under the enforcer’s piercing gaze.

Ultra Magnus opened his mouth for a moment before abruptly slamming it shut. Even if their half of the matrix was missing, it wouldn’t do to have the rest of the crew yammering on about it. And if Magnus were to tell Swerve, he may as well hop up on a soapbox and shout it out for the whole ship to hear. It was at this point that the enforcer noticed that the barkeep’s terrified gaze hadn’t strayed from him once. Although the word “terrified” may rapidly need to be replaced with “confused.”

“I… I would like a drink.” Magnus intoned, not quite believing that the words were leaving his vocal unit. He immediately sat down on one of the barstools, and struggled for a nanocycle to keep his mighty frame balanced on the tiny perch.

Apparently Swerve was just as baffled. His visor went that extra bit wide that announced the optics behind it were doing their damndest to liberate themselves from their sockets. “Erm… Yeah, sure! Pleasure to serve an officer! Anything in particular you want?”

“Yes.” Magnus didn’t blink. “A drink.”

“Oh.” Swerve, on the other hand, did blink behind his visor. “Erm, sure.” He quickly poured the biggest glass of generic engex he could and placed it in front of the giant. “Been a particularly stressful cycle, has it?”

“No.” Magnus didn’t so much as look at the drink.

“Uh huuuh.” Swerve tentatively went back to cleaning out a glass behind the bar. The bar that was suddenly almost empty. “So uh… Don’t think I’ve seen you in here that often. You know. Except for the time you tried to shut it do-”

“You hear anything odd here, recently?”

“What?” Swerve turned back around immediately.

“Well… You know, odder than _usual._ ” Magnus rolled his optics. “Any drunken bets, intoxicated declarations, things of that caliber?”

“Well… I mean, last night _Tailgate_ was in here drunk as a cyberskunk and asking just about anything that moved to fight him.” Swerve shrugged. “I dunno, does that count?”

Magnus’ head tilted to one side, involuntarily. “I’m sorry?”

“I know, right?” Swerve turned and pointed to a rather Tailgate-shaped dent in the wall. “Eventually Whirl got bored of making fun of him and gave him a good toss, too.”

The enforcer shook his head and mentally added a charge of assault to Whirl’s record. Again. “Thank you for your cooperation, but I think I have everything I need.” Magnus rose from the bar and stalked out, the chatter throughout finally restarting as the door closed behind him. To which Swerve almost immediately grabbed the still-untouched drink and downed the whole thing.

 

* * *

Of course, he _didn’t_ have everything he needed. What he currently had was absolutely nothing. It was foolish of him to expect a lead from Swerve’s anyways. In retrospect, Ultra Magnus really should have known that. Half the bots in their were constantly drunk, and the other half were hardly anything Magnus would come close to calling a character witness. Still, Engex loosened lips, and loose lips sank tightly-guarded conspiracies to steal halves of the most historically significant artifact in the history of the Autobot cause. But apparently that wasn’t the route to solving the crime in this one case.

No, what Magnus needed was evidence. _Evidence like paint particles, or an oil trace, or-_

It was at this point that Rewind happened to fall through a ventilation shaft and clang off the floor directly in front of the enforcer.

_Or a video recording._

“Ow! Ow ow ow ow.” Rewind slowly clambered back to his feet, rubbing the back of his cranial plating. “Damn vents. Swear to Primus the whole duct network’s falling apa-papa-pa-pa-paaaaw _fuck!”_ Rewind stammered at the sight of a very familiarly shaped shadow being cast over him. Just like that the little ‘bot was off like a shot, sprinting down the hallway while the much larger enforcer kept pace behind him with a leisurely stride. Magnus wasted no time in reaching down and easily scooping the archivist from the ground.

“Hello there, Rewind.” Magnus deadpanned.

“Lemme go!” the small ‘bot squirmed in the enforcer’s grip, but wasn’t able to free so much as an arm from the behemoth’s hand. “I’ve done nothing! This is a terrible mistake!”

“You don’t stand accused of anything, Rewind, except damage to the climate control systems that in all truth can easily be repaired.” And as such the enforcer mentally added it to the archivist’s record. “No, I’m here to ask for your help in another case I’m working on.”

“Oh?” Rewind stopped squirming a bit at this. “How so?”

“A certain theft has taken place in the vicinity of Perceptor’s workshop last night.” Magnus surmised. “I was wondering if by any chance you were in the area? Being you?” The blue ‘bots eyes dotted towards the archivist’s camera attachment. And the archivist _immediately_ started squirming again.

“Nope! Nuh uh, wasn’tanywhereneartherelastnightsodon’tgotanythingtotellya _Byyyyye!_ ”

“Hrm.” Ultra Magnus couldn’t help but raise an ocular ridge. “You know, with an attitude like that I can’t help you think that maybe you _did_ see something. If you’re frightened by the possibility of retaliation you don’t have to worry. I’ll ensure whoever committed the crime will end up in the brig for a long, long time.” He loosened a finger, allowing Rewind free reign over a single arm. “I’ll need that cord of yours, though.”

For a moment the little mech was practically paralyzed. Then, he wordlessly pulled his data relay cord from his head. Wordlessly. Which isn’t to say he didn’t whimper. Ultra Magnus plugged the relay cord into the data transfer port on the side of his head. “Thank you.”

 

* * *

_The footage was crystal clear quality, as always from the_ Lost Light’s _resident archivist. That said, the picture was somewhat marred by the presence of ventilation grating blocking it._

_“Oh for the love of the Allspark, Brainstorm,_ get on with it!” _Perceptor’s voice was impatient, almost jumpy. An accomplice perhaps? Had one of the reporters of the crime really been an accomplice all along?_

_“Now Percy, You know that I know that there’s a right way to do things.” Brainstorm chuckled. “And sometimes the best way to go about these kinds of things is to just take is sloooooow, you know?”_

_What?_

_A sharp intake from Perceptor. “Ooooh. Yeah, a little to the left”_   
_Oh._

_“Right there! That’s the spot!”_

_OH!_

 

* * *

“Hrm.” Magnus _immediately_ yanked the transfer plug from his head. “I won’t lie, Rewind. I find this information dissapointing. In many ways.”

“Please don’t tell Chromedome.” Rewind pleaded, nervous condensation forming on his faceplate.

“I have no reason to bring the matter up to him.” Magnus shrugged, lowering the small ‘bot to the ground. “That said, I will not lie to him should the topic arise.” He then opened his hand, dropping the little mech.

Rewind just groaned. “Right. Thanks, I guess.”

Ultra Magnus shook his head, trying to clear it as he walked down the corridor. Another impulse, another dead end. Why was he acting on so many impulses today?

_Because you have nothing else to go on._

It was a displeasing thought, to be certain. But really, it wasn’t wrong… Ultra Magnus just ended up grumbling to himself as he walked along, eventually making it to the habitation suites. It wasn’t too hard to imagine that the matrix would still be in the criminal’s possession right? Magnus resolved to scan each and every suite until he found something. _Anything._ It didn’t take long. The enforcer’s highly trained optics were immediately drawn to the unsightly burn marks on the walls of the hallway.

_What in Primus’ name caused those?_

And it was at this point that a dogfight came screaming into the corridor. A familiar purple jet was roaring up the hall, with a way _too_ familiar steel-blue tiltrotor following behind and letting loose with an inbuilt autocannon.

Cyclonus and Whirl. _Great._

Magnus rolled into the nearest suite as the aerial engagement rumbled past. He could hear Whirl screaming “Where you goin’!? I’m not finished with you, bitch!”

_Tsche-chu-chu-chu-Tsche_

It wasn’t very often that one sees a mech grab a helicopter around the middle and suplex it. And yet, that is exactly what Magnus saw happen right in front of the doorway he was in. Cyclonus was immediately back on his feet, fists clenched. “Stop using your weapons indoors like the pit-borne fool you are. We are in space after all.”

With a _Tsche-chu-chu-chu-Tsche_ of his own, Whirl sprang from the floor and was ready to brawl. “What, you think I need weapons to take you on, you old _scrap?”_ He was about to throw a punch too, before he looked off to his left. “Oh _come on,_ man, you spoil _everything!”_

“No.” Magnus stepped out from the empty hab suite. “I merely uphold the law.” He looked between the two ‘bots. “What seems to be the problem?”

Whirl wasted no time in hopping over in front of Magnus. “Yo, so I was jus’ walkin’ down the hallway, mindin’ my own business, on my way back to my suite after a session with Rung when _bam!_ ” Whirl turned and pointed at Cyclonus. “ _This_ nutbar flies in out of nowhere and fraggin’ _blasts_ into me before jetting off!”

Magnus just turned his optics to Cyclonus. And in return, the purple ancient just shrugged. “I merely assumed that since Whirl violently assaulted Tailgate last night he was _obviously_ searching for a fight. So it would really be best for all involved if somebody on par with him were to give him one, correct? Perhaps subdue him?”

“Pfffft, you think you can handle _me,_ old man?” Whirl popped his neck jointure and got in a fighting stance for the nanocycle before Magnus held up his hand.

“That’s enough. I don’t have time for this.” Magnus grumbled. “You.” He pointed at Whirl. “Back to your suite.” He waited for the blue helicopter to stalk away (grumbling all the way) and only turned to face Cyclonus after he’d rounded the end of the hallway. “What. In the _Pit._ Were you thinking?”

“I do apologize, Magnus. That said, it is a pity you interfered.” Cyclonus crossed his arms. “It’s high time that ‘bot was given his comeuppance for… well for _anything,_ really.”

“You _know_ that’s _my_ job.” Magnus grumbled.

“Yes, yes it is.” Cyclonus shook his head. “But then, sometimes one just doesn’t want to let bureaucracy get in the way of judgement. Surely _you_ can appreciate that.”

Suddenly the Enforcer felt the urge to recall the times over the last few mega-cycles that he’d thought the exact same thing. “I can. But that still doesn’t excuse your conduct.” There was a pause for a moment. “How about this.” Magnus started walking down the hallway. “I’ll come with you back to your suite, look Tailgate over, and if there’s any significant damage I’ll try and press charges against Whirl, alright?”

“You know what?” Cyclonus’ lip plating curled into something vaguely resembling a smile. “I’d like that.”

 

* * *

“Erm… Are you _sure_ this is going to work, Drift?” Tailgate muttered. Never mind the fact that he was still aching from the strike on his back plating (and the Engex his CPU was still laboring to scrub out of his cranium) And now he was doing some kind of spiritualist ritual with Drift? “I mean, this seems kind of… well.”

Drift looked over the table at the the small bot, over the half of the matrix he’d propped up on a flashlight with a makeshift podium. He had that placid smile on his face. “Spiritual? Enlightened? Metaphysical?”

“Erm…” Tailgate put a finger to his chin. “Weird?”

“Weird?” Drift scoffed, adjusting the fiber-wrap he was wearing around his chassis and over his crystal-decorated helm. “Weird!? _This,_ my little friend, is a piece of our ancient Cybertronian culture! Crystal gazing is a proud art that goes all the way back to the advisor-sages of the Knights of Cybertron!”

The little ‘bot gasped at this. “Really?”

Drift simply shrugged. “Yeah, sure, that’s what Wing always said. Now.” Drift cleared his vocal unit and began wiggling his fingers, keeping them held above the gleaming crystal hemisphere of the matrix half. The crystals looped around his helm by silver wire bounced and clinked around merrily. “Oh Great and Mystical Primus, through your Thirteen descendants and the ever-bright Allspark, by the light of the Guiding Hand, we ask that you-” Drift was interrupted when the dimly-lit suite was brightened by the door being opened. Tailgate squinted his visor at this, and Drift let out a puff of exhaust. “Come _on_ Cyclonus, you said I could have…” By this point Drift had turned around and locked eyes with Ultra Magnus.

Who, for his part, immediately erased the word “resist” from the start of his optic profile for Drift.

“IT’S THE FUZZ!” Drift shouted, throwing the table up in the air. “SCATTER!”

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, a big hearty "howdy" to everybody here at AO3! This is my first real foray into Transformers fanfic, and what you see here is likely to be my main MO for a while: Silly little one-shots focusing on the IDWverse, particularly around the Lost Light and/or its crew. I look forward to hearing any and all feedback, positive or negative! Gotta hear whatever you have to say if I hope to keep giving you guys what you like to read! My personal favorites among the crewmates include Ultra Magnus, Rung, and Tailgate, so any oneshot suggestions involving those 'bots are always welcome!


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